What is surrogacy and how does it work? Maybe you’ve heard the term “surrogate” or “surrogacy”, but you don’t know what it entails. Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries a child or children, for another couple or person throughout the duration of a pregnancy.

  • Surrogacy helps build families for couples (hetero or same-sex) or individuals who cannot naturally conceive.
  • The two types of surrogacy are traditional and gestational.
  • In traditional surrogacy, the baby is biologically related to the surrogate.
  • Gestational surrogacy is the most common and is often legally preferred.

Traditional Surrogacy

In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate uses her own egg and carries out the pregnancy. This means that the surrogate will also be the biological mother to the child she is carrying for the couple. This type of surrogacy is typically only used if the biological mother’s eggs cannot be used due to infertility issues or for male same sex couples.

Using intrauterine insemination, sperm from the biological father will be transferred into the uterus of the egg donor/surrogate where the embryo will fertilize naturally. Sometimes in vitro fertilization (IVF) may be used. If IVF is used, the surrogate must also undergo an egg retrieval, and embryo transfer before the embryos are transferred back to the surrogate.

Gestational Surrogacy

In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate’s eggs will not be used, and she will not be biologically related to the child. The surrogate is only providing the womb for the embryo to develop into a healthy pregnancy. Instead, the embryos will be created using the biological father’s sperm (or sperm donor or donated embryos) and the biological mother’s eggs (or donor eggs). Once fertilized, an embryo is transferred to the surrogate’s uterus using the process of in vitro fertilization.

Due to various legal aspects of traditional surrogacy, Family Source Consultants only facilitates gestational surrogacy arrangements.

For more information traditional or gestational surrogacies or to begin the application process, contact us today!

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Staci Swiderski, CEO and owner of Family Source Consultants, has been a prominent leader in reproductive medicine for over two decades. Through her strategic vision and dedication, she has developed Family Source Consultants into a globally recognized agency specializing in comprehensive egg donation and gestational surrogacy services. Under Staci’s leadership, the agency has become a trusted partner for intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors worldwide, known for its rigorous standards, compassionate support, and commitment to excellence in third-party reproduction.

Her professional insight is uniquely informed by her own family-building experiences. As an intended parent, Staci welcomed her son via gestational surrogacy in 2005, and as a known egg donor, she assisted an infertile couple in expanding their family. These experiences lend a rare depth to her leadership and have fueled her ongoing dedication to ethical, empathetic, and professional support within the field of reproductive medicine.